


A Run In

by Readymcreaderson



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, His name is Stephenson not Stephensons, Kidnapped, Meeting old friends, bound and gagged, cafe date, straight up creep, trigger warning drugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:27:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25733569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Readymcreaderson/pseuds/Readymcreaderson
Summary: Annie runs into Rich on her way home from the holiday party and the night doesn't go as planned.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Rich Stephenson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone for the great input and feedback!

Annie stood with a big bright smile in front of a big cake that was covered with 33 lights and her name written in purple across it. Everyone at work had pulled together to celebrate her birthday at the same time as they had their Christmas party. 

“You guuuys~,” Annie gushed out loud when they were done singing for her. “This is way too much!”

“Annie, you’ve had a great year so a little celebration is in order. Also, just take it. You deserve it,” her boss Johan said with a wide grin. He was a short man with barely any hair on the top his head. He slapped a friendly hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to the cake that was getting cut up by her desk mate Martha. “Take a slice, enjoy the free booze and just have a great time Annie, next year you won’t have the time to.”

With that a plate of chocolate cake was pushed into her hands and Johan was already running over to the next person who needed a party push. 

“Happy early birthday, Annie,” Martha said with a soft smile as she came to stand next to Annie with her own plate of cake. “And congratulation on the promotion, no one better to take over from Johan when he retires.”

“Thank you Martha.” They stood quietly and looked over the small group of people who were occupying the conference room. Every one of them had been looking forward to a few days off from work. Working in the private sector had it’s advantages sometimes. 

“You would think after last year they’d learn about the booze,” Annie laughed as they saw one of their co-workers tipping over one of the tables where the snacks were situated. 

“I hope they never do,” Martha muttered as a response. 

As the evening wore on and the holiday/birthday party got further into its grove Annie saw it fit to take the night early. Most of her co-workers had started to get so drunk that standing up right was no longer an option. So she bid her far well to her boss and Martha before she got her coat from her seat and headed off and out onto the cold New York streets. 

Just as she had stepped out of the outer doors of the office building Annie crashed right into a solid frame which made her topple backwards. She was just about to brace herself for the hard crash into the ground when she felt a pair of sturdy hands grab around her elbows.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you like. Ho-”  
As she looked up at the stranger who’d just acted as a wall Annie realized that this was no stranger at all. 

“Rich!” Annie let out a squeal of delight. Remembering back to her time in Greendale she couldn’t help the red embarrassment that spread across her cheeks. The last time they had seen each other she’d asked him out. Must have been at least 10 years ago. What a silly girl she’d been. 

“Annie, what in the world!” Rich replied with the same kind of enthusiasm that Annie had showered him. 

Looking at him Annie had to agree with herself that Rich had aged well. His blonde hair was still in a neat back comb but it was peppered with silver hairs here and there which made it seem like he sparkled in the city lights that cast long shadows around them. His eyes had grown softer over the years and he no longer wore that manic smile that sometime unsettled her. Though if anyone asked about it, Annie would deny every having thought so. 

“What are you doing in New York?” Rich asked as he helped Annie steady herself onto her own two feet. 

“I work here,” Annie replied and waved an arm towards the building behind her. “What about you? Last time I heard anything about you, you were in Doctors Without Borders! I mean wow, talk about being a hero for those who needs one.”

Rich let out an embarrassed laugh. “Oh I am only helping out where I am needed, anyone would do the same if offered the chance.” He let out a sigh and looked over Annie’s shoulder towards the building. “I am just in New York for a quick doctors conference, in and out in three days.” 

“Oh,” slipped out of Annie with a disappointed air around it. “I mean, I am so lucky to have ran into you then!” She straightens herself up and slips on an effortless smile. 

“I am the lucky one for having ran into you, literally,” he winked at her with a mischievous smile. “I’m glad you had to work late so we had this meet cute.” 

“Oh, I wasn’t working. There was, is, a Christmas/Birthday party but I just got tired of all of my very drunk co-workers,” Annie corrected on his assumption. 

“Who’s birthday were you guys celebrating then?” 

“Mine, though a little early as I am turning 33 in the middle of our holiday week.” Annie beamed up at him. “Not a young little girl anymore.” 

“Not at all,” Rich said. “Not in the slightest.” He reached out his hand and gave her elbow a soft squeeze. “How about we go celebrate a little just the two of us? No alcohol, just a cup of coffee and some late night feed?” 

“I would love to,” Annie answered with a shy smile.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” He offered his arm and Annie gladly took a hold of it and they started to wander down the street in look for an open cafe. 

As they walked together they talked about the last ten years that had passed. Annie told him about how she and her friends had saved Greendale Community College once and for all (doubtful). She told him how she’d gotten an internship in D.C. at the FBI and how she’d spent the best summer of her life learning everything they could teach her. She also told him of how she came to live and work in New York after a head hunter had come down to Denver on her last year of her Masters in Forensics and how they had offered her a job as Crime Analyst. 

Rich listened intently and came with the appropriate responses, very impressed by everything she’d told him. Then he told her that after moving away from Greedale he’d gone to L.A. for a little while to help out the less fortunate there but had grown tired of the cars and the long queues for everything. So after a few years there he signed up for Doctors Without Borders and had stayed with them ever since, doing everything from traveling and being a doctor to raising money for new equipment that they needed in the field. 

By the time they were done running through everything that had happened over the last decade the time had ran away from them and the coffee they had gotten at a small corner cafe they’d found had gone cold. 

“Could you maybe order a hot chocolate to go?” Annie asked Rich as she stood up from her seat looking over at the clock that hung over the counter. “It’s getting late and I’d like to get home before the sun raises again.” 

“Of course I can,” Rich assured her with a smile. 

“Good, I’ll just go freshen up a little then.” 

When Annie came back to their table Rich was already ready to go. Beside him stood two paper cups with plastic lids on top. 

“Thank you so much,” Annie said as she slipped on her coat with the help of Rich. “I’m sorry that we have to cut it so short but I’m really getting tired.” As if Annie’s tiredness needed a visual, she gaped out a long yawn which she covered with the back of her hand. 

“I understand, early start for me tomorrow too.” Rich picked up the cups and offered Annie hers. “What if we go home now and sleep and tomorrow we go out for a dinner?” 

“Yes, but only if you count it as a date.” Annie felt bold today. It was the start of Christmas vacation. Her birthday wasn’t far off and Rich had been perfect all night. 

“Of course.” 

She slipped her hand around his elbow as they stepped out of the little corner cafe. “This ended much better than the last time we saw each other.” Annie said with a small laugh before she took a big warming sip of her hot chocolate. “And this is a great cup, thanks.” 

They turned their faces towards her work and started to walk together. With each step they took together Annie felt as if her world slowed down around her. She started to feel more tired than she’d ever been and with a heavy head she leaned onto Rich’s shoulder, not being able to stop herself. Annie fought hard not to let her eyelids slip close, afraid that if she did she’d fall asleep right there and then.

“Rich,” she mumbled. Her words felt heavy on her tongue. “I don’t feel-”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie wakes up bound and gagged not knowing where she is.

_I don’t feel-_

__

_I don’t feel-_

__

_I don’t feel so good._

Annie didn’t feel good. Her head was pounding hard against her scull and everything felt like needles against her skin. A groan were let out through her lips, or it would have if it didn’t get stuck in her throat as she had something pressing hard down against her tongue. 

Panic rose up in her chest as she opened her eyes only to be met with a painfully sharp light pointed directly at her face. With all the force she could muster where she laid she tried to move up only to be met with restraints that were placed over her head, hands, feet and torso. 

Her scream was muffled down by the tight gag in her mouth but anyone in the room could hear her panic and fear. Annie’s eyes started to overflow with tears, both from the pain due to the sharp light and the tight fear that had taken root in her chest. 

Over and over again Annie tried to shake herself loose but nothing worked. None of her restraints moved an inch and all it left her was tired and sore. At last she gave up and closed her eyes, resigning herself to what ever would come next. All she hoped for was that it would be over soon. 

“Annie.”

His voice started Annie from her quiet contemplation and she tried to move her head over to the side to where he was standing but got caught in the head strap. 

“Annie, Annie, don’t move,” Rich spoke in a soft voice that he probably used when he worked with children. He reached out a hand and gently brushed it against Annie’s cheek which made her revolt, trying to escape the touch. “I’m here to take care of you, you’ll see.” 

He leaned in closer and blocked the light so he cast a dark shadow over her. His eyes were dark and manic but he was still smiling, that perfect pearly white smile that had made Annie weak in her knees once upon a time, now it scared her more than anything had ever done. 

She closed her eyes trying to block Rich out as her breathing ticked up in speed and intensity so hard that she almost chocked on the gag. Soft scared whimpers escaped her throat even when she tried her hardest not to make any sound. 

“Oh, you’re scared,” Rich whispered only a hairs width away from Annie’s ear. His breath could be felt so clearly it physically hurt her. “Don’t be scared, I promise you I’ll make it all better.” With that he rose up from his hunched over position and pushed the light away. 

Annie blinked her eyes open and for the first time since she woke up she could see a little. She tried to look from the corner of her eyes but all she was met with was dark drab walls. Nothing told her where they were. 

“Remember when you asked me out back when?” Rich asked Annie, not really waiting for an answer from her as he didn’t move to remove the gag. “You were so young and bright, still so much ahead of you.” He let out a soft wistful sigh before he continued. “It wasn’t your time yet, Annie. You had some growing to do.”

He looked down at at her, his crazy maniac look had been replaced by something sad and muted. “And you grew so fine. You had your big adventure, got your dream job,” Rich smiled at her and brushed his fingers through her hair. “And now you’re here with me.” 

Annie’s tears welled up in her eyes again and flowed down her temples. The fear that already was buried in her chest ached and grew stronger. When Rich gave her soft strokes over her hair she found it worse than the manic look he’d had earlier. Then she’d thought he’d just kill her and get over with it. Now that he was almost human and Annie didn’t know what was waiting for her. 

“I know you lied Annie,” he said with a hard tinge to his voice. His hand gripped a fistful of her hair and pulled hard. “You lied 10 years ago and you lied again yesterday.” He let go of her before he moved out of her vision and started to move around some things that sounded like metal. “I know you don’t want to be with me, not really. You already love him more.” 

Annie felt her hair get touched again before hearing the unmistakable sound of hair getting cut. “You already love my brother, you only want be with me because he’s not here.” Rich’s voice grew colder, more distant as he spoke. “You always favoured my brother, didn’t matter what I did or accomplished.” 

His brother? Annie didn’t know his brother, barely knew he had one to begin with. She tried to speak up, tried to tell him that she didn’t know his brother but it was futile as every sound that tried to escaped was stopped by the gag. 

“So now, I’ll take care of you and bring you to him.” Rich moved away from her and Annie could hear him move around the metal objects again before he walked over to where her feet were bound. He put something down between them before he placed his impossible cold hands on her sock clad feet. “I’ll make it so you two can be happy together.” 

With that said he pulled off the sock on her right foot and grabbed hold of her foot painfully hard. “This will only hurt a little and if you keep still, it’ll be over in a short moment.” Rich took hold of the thing he’d placed on the surface she laid on and brought it up to her pinkie toe. “Deep breaths,” he whispered as he put what felt like a sturdy scissor on both side of her pinkie toe. 

Annie braced herself for the pain that was about to come, she braced herself for what looked like would be a long torturous time bound in place. Instead a phone rang and Rich pulled his hands back in irritation. 

“I’ll be right back,” he said with anger as he slammed the sturdy scissors down on the table between her legs and rushed out of the room. 

_I’ll be right back._

__

_I’ll be right back._

__

_I’ll be right back._

The scissors, Annie thought. She was bound tight but she could still move her feet from side to side and the scissors were close. Maybe she could get free. Maybe there was hope for her after all. 

With a hopeful prayer she turned over her right foot and touched the scissors with her toes. She let out a sob as she started to work as quickly as she could to move the sharp edges towards the restraints. With her heel she pinned down the scissors and started to move it back and forth against the restraint that held her foot. And then it finally broke free. 

The hope that had started started small and meek blossomed in her chest, growing stronger with each passing second. 

With her freed foot she picked the scissors up with her toes and brought it to her left hand and got to work immediately. After her left hand got free it all went by fast. First thing she removed was the gag, then she moved on to the right arm, her head and torso. 

As she sat there and worked on her left foot she noticed that other than the sharp light overhead, the table she was on and a table with a metal tray with various sharp objects, there was nothing there. No windows that had been covered, only a lone door that Rich had just gone through to get the phone-call. 

_I’ll be right back._

Annie hurried up and jumped off the table as soon as she’d gotten her left foot free. With quick quiet steps she moved over to the metal tray and picked up what looked like a large butcher’s knife. She was going to wait for him to get back, then she would escape. 

With her new found hope she stood on the side of the door that would hide her when he came back. Annie was determined. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight.


	3. Chapter 3

“Of course Mother, I am doing the best I can,” Rich sighed as he walked down the corridor. 

“Sure you are honey, but all I’m saying is that if it was your brother, he’d be _holding_ the conference not simply _attending_ it,” the frail voice of his mother came out of the phone, made him see red. Nothing he ever did was good enough, but one day she’d regret her harsh words to him. 

“I don’t have time to hold any conferences since I’m spending all my time with Doctors Without Borders.” He knew that it didn’t matter what he said to the old hag, nothing would be good enough. Nothing could be better than his dead brother. 

He came to the end of the corridor and stepped up to the main floor of the small farm house he had found abandoned outside of New York the last time he was there. It was about ready to fall over but was still somehow liveable, with a small kitchen, a living room area and a bedroom with a bathroom attached. 

The real reason he had bought it was the cellar, it was big, underground and dark. No one could tell where they were under there. No sound came in and no sound carried out. It was perfect. 

Last year, right after he had bought it, Rich had brought with him a lovely woman in her 40s over. She was perfect for what he needed her to. Her dark hair, blue eyes and big bright future ahead of her. What more was that she’d said yes to a date with him, even though they both knew she preferred someone else. It was always like that. 

“Sure you have time! They’ve done without doctors there before they can again!” his mother barraged on. 

Earlier, with Annie, Rich had stepped out of line. He was supposed to have said Jeff’s name, but Rich had been too eager. He just wanted to help her. 

“Richard! Are you listening to me?” his mother demanded to know as it seemed like Rich had spaced out. 

“Yes Mother, I am listening to you,” he sighed and sat down on the couch in the small living-room. He didn’t have much left to give to the woman. All he wanted to do was return to Annie. 

“Then answer me when I’m asking you a question! Are you or are you not coming to celebrate the new years with us this year?” 

“I am, coming over on the 29th and staying until the 2nd. You know we spoke of this last month,” Rich was tired of all of this. The woman could barely remember her own keys when leaving the apartment but she always remembered to nag on him, compare him to his dead brother. 

“Don’t forget, we’re visiting your brother’s grave.” 

With that the call ended and Rich was left alone with his own thoughts in the small house. Nothing seemed to please that woman, but he was working on it. He’d show her all the people he’d got together. One day the entire world would know his generosity, his name would be spoken by even the most prominent men and women. Then she couldn’t keep telling him his brother was better. After 30 years it was time.   
And Annie would be his last piece. The sweet, innocent Annie was going to be the mantle piece and Jeff would finally be able to love her out in the open. 

It was all done out of the goodness of his heart.

Rich put his phone on silence before he pocketed it and got up and out of the living-room. There was so much to do and too little time to do it in. He was needed back at the hotel for the conference soon, someone would start missing him if he stayed too long. 

Stepping inside the small room that he had placed Annie in, the first thing he noticed was that Annie was no longer at the table. Panic rose up in Rich’s chest. This had never happened before, no one had gotten free from him. He had always helped them out and they had always wanted it, in the end. Annie would be the same. Rich knew that, but she was gone now, before she understood that he was there to help her, help her to get what she wanted.

“Ann-” he was about to turn around to go look for her when he felt a sharp thwack in his shoulder, he bent over and let out a pained scream. A foot came and kicked him the rest of the way down, face first into the cold floor. 

“I don’t know your brother!” Annie screamed at her captor before she was gone out the door.

Heaving for breath, Rich tried slowly but surely to get up onto his feet with only the help of his left arm. As he stood up he felt over on his right shoulder where she’d hit him and he could feel a big knife lodged in deeply. It pained him to even try to move his shoulder.

“Fuck.” 

How did she do that? Get free of the restraints, surprise him and get him down before he had even registered her still in the room? 

***

Annie ran out of the house, with still just one sock and one naked foot but the rough pain from the stones underneath were a welcomed feeling. She’d made it out into the sunlight. 

Her feet worked quickly over the uneven floor of stones as she hurried down a long pathway towards to what she hoped was the main road. 

It didn’t take long before she found the road, just as she could hear Rich shout out her name, telling her to come back to him. He was just helping. 

As luck would have it a car came just in time as she came down to the road. Not caring for her safety, Annie ran right into the road waving her arms around frantically to make the driver to stop. 

The car slowed down to a halting stop and Annie ran around to the passenger side with a frantic look on her face. “Let me in, let me in,” she said over and over again, her hand on the handle. Rich was getting closer, his voice had already grown stronger and with each passing second Annie felt the fear overtake her again. 

The driver unlocked the car with weary eyes held onto Annie’s. She pushed herself into the seat and locked the car after herself. “Drive! Drive!” Her hands hit the dashboard hard. “Drive!”

The driver didn’t say anything, just put the car in drive just as Annie saw the pale face of Rich coming out onto the road. His face consorted in anger and pain. She had won and Rich was defeated. 

***

“Where is she? Annie Edison?” a familiar voice rang through the hospital that Annie had been taken to after the nice stranger had driven her to the closest police station. It had been almost an entire day since she came, but no one wanted to let her go without a guardian so Annie had reluctantly given the phone number to the one person who she knew would take care of her like she wanted. 

She closed her eyes and leaned back into the bed and waited for them to come to her. There was nothing more she wanted to do right now, after giving her statement three – four times in a row to what felt like twelve different people, she was just tired. 

“Oh, Ann-ie,” Shirley stood in the open doorway looking over the tired figure that was laid over the bed. “Oh, Ann-ie.” 

Shirley came over to her, put her purse down before she pulled Annie into what she could only describe as a motherly hug. Ever since she’d gotten out of the terrible place she hadn’t cried once but now that she finally felt safe she let her walls down and let her tears go. 

“I am here, nothing bad is going to happen to you now Annie.” 

Annie nodded into Shirley’s shoulder, her grip growing stronger with each passing second. “I was so scared,” was all that she could say through her sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could be more coming.


End file.
